Singapore, HK, Japan have best institutions

Singapore, HK, Japan have best institutions

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan boast Asia's
most highly regarded institutions while Thailand, South Korea,
Indonesia and China are seen to have the worst, according to a
survey of expatriate executives.

The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. (PERC) asked
400 executives to rate the police and judiciary, the monetary
authority, the legislature, and the stock market regulator in 10
Asian countries.

On a scale of one to 10, with zero as the best possible grade,
Singapore averaged 3.15 for the four categories, with its
monetary authority getting the highest rating at 2.28 points,
said a PERC report received here Tuesday.

Hong Kong averaged 3.65 points, and its monetary authority
scored highest in any category for all countries at 2.05 points.
Japan was a far third with an average of 5.0 points.

Although the survey was undertaken in the first quarter of
1997, well before Hong Kong's handover to China on July 1, PERC
said "results to date would seem to indicate that Hong Kong's
institutions have come through in the best possible shape."

"Hong Kong's political status may have changed, not its
economic institutions," it said, but added that the independence
of legal and monetary institutions from China could be tested in
the future.

The Philippines came in fourth at 5.13 points, with its
central bank scoring well, but its police and judiciary were
poorly regarded, scoring 7.07 points.

Some Philippine policemen have been linked to criminal
activities such as kidnapping and drugs, while corruption charges
have tainted the judiciary's image, PERC noted.

Malaysia was a close fifth at 5.22 points but was described by
PERC as "boringly average."

"Our survey did not include any damning indictment of key
Malaysian institutions. On the other hand, few of our respondents
seemed particularly impressed with their performance either," it
remarked.

On the negative side of the survey, China fared worst with an
average of 7. 2 points. The poorest score was given to the stock
market regulatory authority.

South Korea had the second worst scores. PERC said its
institutions are "well established and maturing rapidly" but the
legislature was seen as the weakest institution and regulations
in the form of licensing and permits "give birth to preferential
treatment and corruption."

PERC also cited the scandals and political clashes bedeviling
the country, but noted that problems in the financial sector were
being "addressed most vigorously" and that the central bank got
better ratings than other institutions in the survey.

Third worst spot was taken by Indonesia, whose economy is
doing well but "political institutions, it seems, command little
respect" and the judiciary is faced with a huge backlog of
appeals and allegations of corruption, PERC said.

The legislature "is regarded as a mere rubber stamp," while
police face a serious "public relations nightmare," with stations
increasingly targeted during riots.

The lowest score for any institution in any country in the
survey was given to Indonesia's police and judiciary, at 8.34
points. But the central Bank Indonesia had a better-than-average
score.

As for seventh-ranked Thailand, currently undergoing a severe
financial crisis, PERC said "the reputation of Thai institutions
covered by our survey continues to sink. Many Thais would rate
them even lower than our respondents. "

The "hardest blow" has been the central Bank of Thailand's
"debacle," PERC said, adding that "its shortcomings have shaken
confidence as nothing else has done because it was always seen as
being above the disorder of politics and business."